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Cold TurkeyCold Turkey : PhrasesMeaning: The state addicts are in when withdrawing from drug addiction. Also, predominantly in the U.S.A., plain speaking. Origin: Of course, the term 'cold turkey' in the literal 'cold meat' sense appears many times in recipes - 'cold turkey salad' etc. Neither of the meanings above appear to have any allusory link back to that. The most common use of the term is now in relation to drug withdrawal. The earliest reference I can find to that is from the Canadian newspaper The Daily Colonist, October 1921:
The 1936 edition of American Speech gave a definition of the term:
The 'plain talking/getting down to business' meaning of the term is largely limited to the U.S.A. The English newspaper The Daily Express explained that for an English audience in a January 1928 edition:
There are many uses of the term in U.S. citations from the early 20th century. For example, this from The Oakland Tribune, August 1915:
In the state of drug withdrawal the addict's blood is directed to the internal organs, leaving the skin white and with goose bumps. It has been suggested that this is what is alluded to by 'cold turkey'. That seems doubtful. It is much more likely that the allusion is to the direct, no nonsense approach indicated by the earlier 'plain speaking' meaning of the term. Phrases Index
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